The present invention is related to insulating means for preventing liquid from seeping into equipment, and more particularly to a liquid-insulating device used for protecting electrical apparatus from damage by corrosion of seeping liquid.
For automation in industries, it is general to locate various liquid pipes around electrical equipment to directly apply liquid to the process. Especially for the fabrication of semiconductor devices, the piping and the machine are even combined as a whole. Under the circumstances, it is possible for the liquid carried by the pipes to seep through the pipe walls, drop onto the surface of a cable, and flow into an electronic part of the equipment, e.g. a connector, along the cable. Therefore, the electronic part may become short-circuit owing to the presence of the liquid. In particular, the liquid used in the semiconductor manufacturing process is generally corrosive to electronic elements so as to enlarge the problem, and even to render the machine down.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid-insulating device which can be mounted to a connecting line of equipment to protect the equipment from the contamination of the seeping liquid so as to avoid malfunction of the equipment resulting from the presence of the seeping liquid
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for protecting equipment from the damage of the seeping liquid by providing a liquid-proof sleeve therefor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for protecting equipment from the damage of the seeping liquid, which includes a plurality of liquid-proof sleeves and a liquid-proof wrapper.
A further object of the present invention is to further guide the liquid away in addition to stopping the liquid from entering the equipment.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a liquid-insulating device is provided to be mounted around an electrical line of equipment to avoid liquid entering the equipment along the electrical line. The liquid-insulating device includes a surrounding portion and a guiding portion. The surrounding portion is made of a liquid-proof material, e.g. rubber, to be mounted around a wire wrapper of the electrical line to stop the liquid from flowing to the equipment therethrough. The guiding portion is arranged on the surrounding portion to guide the liquid stopped by the surrounding portion to flow away from the electrical line.
In a preferred embodiment, the guiding portion includes a plurality of tooth members of pyramid shapes, and the surrounding portion includes a flexible belt and engaging means connected to the flexible belt. The guiding portion is arranged on a first side of the flexible belt. The engaging means holds a first and a second ends of the flexible belt together to make a second side of the flexible belt opposite to the first side in close contact with the wire wrapper after the flexible belt is mounted around the wire wrapper to become a sleeve. In order to achieve this purpose, the engaging means preferably includes an engaging ring connected to the first end of the flexible belt, and an engaging bump connected to the second end of the flexible belt. The engaging bump is made of a flexible material. It penetrates through the engaging ring and sustains against a surface of the engaging ring to maintain the flexible belt as the sleeve. Preferably, the engaging bump consists of a series of tooth members, and one of the tooth members is selected to sustain against the surface of the engaging ring according to the circumference of the wire wrapper. Each of the tooth members is preferably a triangular cubic. In other words, a side view of each of the tooth members has a shape of a right-angled triangle.
Preferably, the surrounding portion further includes a filling bump which has a surface complying with a curve of the wire wrapper, and is arranged on the second side of the flexible belt at the first end in order to fill up a space between the flexible belt and the wire wrapper after the flexible belt is mounted around the wire wrapper.
The liquid-insulating device consisting of the above elements can be integrally formed.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for preventing liquid from entering an equipment to be protected along a connecting line. The method includes a step of surrounding a section of the connecting line with at least one liquid-proof sleeve, wherein the liquid-proof sleeve has an inner surface surrounding an outer surface of the connecting line relatively tightly, and a side area relatively large enough to stop the liquid from crossing thereover.
Preferably, the method further includes a step of guiding the liquid stopped by the side area of the liquid-proof sleeve to flow away from the connecting line.
More preferably, the method further includes a step of enclosing the equipment with a liquid-proof wrapper to further protect the equipment. In this case, two liquid-proofing sleeves located by two sides of the connector are used to tighten two ends of the liquid-proofing wrapper to be in close contact with the connecting line, respectively.
The liquid-proof sleeve used in the method according to the present invention can be detached from the connecting line or formed as a part of the connecting line. On the other hand, the liquid-proof sleeve can be integrally formed.
In a preferred embodiment where the liquid-proof sleeve is detachable from the connecting line, the guiding portion includes a plurality of tooth members having relatively sharp peaks, and the surrounding portion includes a flexible belt, an engaging ring, an engaging bump, and a filling bump. The guiding portion is arranged on the flexible belt. The flexible belt is made of a liquid-proof material, and includes the inner surface and the side area having functions mentioned above. The engaging ring is connected to a first end of the flexible belt. The engaging bump is made of a flexible material and connected to a second end of the flexible belt. After the flexible belt surrounds the connecting line, the engaging bump penetrates through the engaging ring and sustains against a surface of the engaging ring to maintain the flexible belt as a sleeve, and tightens the flexible belt to be in close contact with the connecting line. The filling bump is arranged on the flexible belt and has a surface complying with a curve of the connecting line in order to fill up a space between the flexible belt and the connecting line after the flexible belt surrounds the connecting line. Preferably, the engaging bump consists of a series of tooth members, and one of the tooth members is selected to sustain against the surface of the engaging ring according to the circumference of the connecting line. Each of the tooth members is preferably a triangular cubic. In other words, a side view of each of the tooth members has a shape of a right-angled triangle.
In another embodiment where the liquid-proof sleeve is formed as a part of the connecting line, the liquid-proof sleeve includes a surrounding sleeve and a plurality of tooth members. The surrounding sleeve is made of a liquid-proof material, and includes the inner surface and the side area having functions mentioned above. The plurality of tooth members are arranged on the surrounding sleeve and have relatively sharp peaks for guiding the liquid stopped by the side area to flow toward the peaks and further flow away from the connecting line.
According to the method of the present invention, the liquid-proof sleeve for example can be applied to a section of an electrical line adjacent to a connector to protect the connector. In this case, it is preferred to arrange at least two liquid-proofing sleeves respectively located by two sides of the connector.
On the other hand, the liquid-proof sleeve for example can also be applied to a section of a pipe line adjacent to a machine to protect the machine.
Of course, a plurality of the liquid-proof sleeves can be used to multiply the protecting effect.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a device is provided for preventing liquid from entering a connector to be protected along an electrical line. The device includes a liquid-proof wrapper and four liquid-proof sleeves. The liquid-proof wrapper encloses the connector for protecting the connector. Two of the liquid-proof sleeves are mounted around the electrical line by two sides of the connector for tightening two ends of the liquid-proofing wrapper, respectively. The other two liquid-proof sleeves are mounted around the electrical line by two sides of the liquid-proof wrapper for stopping liquid from flowing into the liquid-proof wrapper.